Ammar Kadi - SUSU Scientist from Syria
South Ural State University is the most famous university in South Ural, so international students choose it to get their education. It offers different programs and give future scientists lots of opportunities to carry out research in many fields of science.
Ammar Kadi from Syria is getting his Ph.D. degree in the program Industrial Ecology and Biotechnology at the School of Medical Biology.
His Bachelor degree Ammar got at the Tishreen University in Latakia City on the Agricultural Faculty, major Food Science.
“I decided to continue my studies in Russia. One of my friends told me about South Ural State University where he was studying. And there was the only university where I could get to the foundation program in the middle of the academic year. As I was going to come to the country in February it was a great chance not to miss a whole year,” said Ammar.
After four months of intensive course of the Russian language Ammar entered SUSU and became a student at Master’s program. Technological infrastructure, research perspectives and excellent teaching staff of the university made Ammar sure that that was the place for serious scientific researches.
Nowadays Ammar carries out his research in an international team at The Laboratory of Synthesis and Analysis of Food Ingredients. The team develops different projects from creating an environmentally-friendly film to adding different ingredients to wine and cheese.
“I work in the field of biotechnology; the science may be applied in different spheres of human activity (e.g. medicine, food industry). I see that this field will be developed and my knowledge and my work can become a great contribution to this development.
The huge problem of today’s world is new diseases which make people’s immunity worse. And we can develop food additives that will give you good taste and add useful functions. For example, we’ve added cinnamon oil to cheese. Cinnamon oil has antibacterial properties which can help activate system immunity. The main aim is to treat human being diseases with the food he eats.”
According to the author, the additives go to milk after the process of pasteurization, and then the mixture is treated with ultrasound. This allows making the mixture homogeneous.
Also, scientists have discovered that the extract of a common weed plant Bidens pilosa, is a promising source of enzymes for the food industry. The substances obtained from a series of compounds can become cheaper plant alternative to expensive enzymes necessary in cheese making.
During the first experiments, it turned out that extract of Bidens pilosa gave bitterness to the product. Cinnamon oil let to cut the bitterness and added useful properties.
“We are planning to add vitamin D (which is vital for our health) or turmeric extract to the cheese. And this will be the topic of my Ph.D. thesis – The Ways to Add Vitamin D to Cheese with the Help of Emulation. To my mind, the key to successful work is a good leader. My academic advisor, Irina Potoroko, always helps, supports, and believes in me and in the team,” shares Ammar.
To have rest from work and get a boost of energy Ammar prefers to play football with friends (here in Chelyabinsk he even got a football coach’s license) or walk in the parks.
